Ink & Lust: Wattpad Version

Chapter 32

Amila wasn't just nervous. She was a wreck. Her mind spawn webs of doubt and worry that her heart tried to dismantle by using the memories of the time she and Dominic shared but her empty stomach flip-flopped, sloshing the acid that mixed with well with angst. Her conflicting thoughts made the flight seem shorter than the two and a half hours that the pilot told her it would be. The familiar chauffeur that greeted her on the tarmac didn't subdue the tension that surged within her. He amplified it with his critical eyes and snarky smirk. She didn't know how to decode that.

As the man whose name she still didn't know while the Rolls Royce cautiously through the snowy terrain their previous conversation materialized in her mind like it was yesterday. She remembered asking him about how many ladies Dominic entertained and he never gave her an answer. She lifted her eyes from the window to the back of his gray speckled head contemplating asking the question again but shook the inquiry out of her head. Knowing the answer wouldn't benefit her at this time. Whatever woman Dominic shared his time with in the past after Jade and before her were irrelevant.

The house was empty when she arrived. She took it as a good sign. That was until the silence that hovered in the spacious modern cabin gobbled up her clarity leaving indecision in its wake. She began to second guess every choice she made. Signing the contract, was that right, or was it a mistake. Maybe she should've stayed in therapy and then she'd be able to use the money in her back account months ago instead of Dominic's.  If she wasn't so weak she wouldn't have needed his lifeline then she wouldn't have been in this position.

Amila's eyes refocused on the scenery before her, the Elk mountain range in the distances, the powder blanketed rolling terrain that made up the vast backyard on that side of the house, and the falling snow as a clear, sure voice sounded in her mind. It reminded her of the one choice she didn't regret. The decision she'd make again and again if her life repeated on a continuous loop. Falling for Dominic wasn't a mistake. It would never be a mistake.

"What are you doing here?" Dominic's footfalls stopped at the entryway of the living room.

Amila whipped away from the massive window to be rendered speechless from the sight of him. A man in an all black suit with a gold chain and an immaculate edge-up would always be her weakness.

"How'd you—" He paused as a realization moved to the forefront of his mind. His jaw clenched then said. "I knew all of them didn't have the flu."  He shook his head then set his stoic eyes on her. "My mom sent you?"

"Yes." The word slipped from her mouth as she pulled herself out of her rumination. She shook her head, removing the images and coming back to reality. "No. She just told me where you were. I came. It was my decision to come."

He shook his head. She didn't know why; was it because of her words or his thoughts. His Adam's apple descended and she watched it fall slowly down the neck, her lips missed. The ocean of space between them was just as tormenting as the time she spent away from him. But she didn't take a step towards him. Her sock-covered feet didn't lift from the wood floors nor did his.

"Hmm." He sounded, his jaw clenching more from the way he ground his teeth as if he was in visceral pain. "Your boyfriend was cool with that decision. He seems like a fine guy."

"He—" She stopped, pulling her hands out the front pocket of the black hoodie that matched her sweatpants. She didn't want to spend time defending Savion's character or anything pertaining to him. This moment was about her. "I don't have a boyfriend. I'm single."

"So, back to kissing strangers."

"He's not a stranger." She shook her head as a wave of ire rushed through her. "But if I wanted to kiss a stranger that's my business since we broke up."